Julie Acevedo and Julio Guerra of Juju Band Concepts have built their business from their family traditions. The pair met while working in the entertainment industry and combined their fashion design skills with their promotional design skills adding to the overall style of the company. Juju Band Concepts was founded upon the belief that traditions should be passed down from generation to generation.

Join them as they discuss what it takes to create a business from scratch with a friend, promotions, traveling to find great artisans, working with a man in a female driven business concept and what he brings to the business and more. www.jujuband.com

By keeping a personal journal, you enter a sacred space. Here, you are safe from judgment and free from daily duties and cares. Here you can dream, discover, and dare to create new ways of being in the world.

Use a journal to directly reinforce the teachings of The Success Principles, and other personal learning courses. Create a laboratory for personal transformation as you put the principles of your course into action each day. Do this by including sections in your journal for inspiration, intention, action, and growth.

Receive Inspiration

Writing captures guidance from your deepest self before it disappears. Inspired ideas can rise to the surface of your mind in a classic “aha!” moment. This might be a solution to a persistent problem, an idea for a breakthrough goal, a powerful image, an energizing affirmation, or another sudden spark of insight. No matter what form the inspiration takes, record it in your journal.

Write about your challenges as well. Note the moments when you are not functioning at your peak—times when you feel bored, tense, angry, afraid, or sad. These feelings are clues to areas of your life ripe for transformation. In your journal, describe the discomfort in detail and how you reacted. Look for patterns. Also brainstorm new options for responding. Sometimes a moment of inspiration lies just on the other side of a tough emotion.

Form Intention

Statements of intention contain blueprints for action. This kind of journal entry offers a way to stay positive and on course, directed toward the new results you want to attract into your life.

As with writing affirmations, keep intention statements focused on what you want. “I intend to effortlessly double my income” is more effective than “I intend to stop worrying about paying my bills each month.”

Also release the word try. A statement such as “I will try to save at least 10 percent of my income each month” conveys something less than wholehearted commitment. People who continue to overspend can rationalize the result by saying, “Well, I am trying.”

A more effective option comes from Yoda, the gnomish guru in the Star Wars film trilogy: “Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.”

While you can fill up a journal with statements of inspiration and intention, consider adding inducements to action as well. Even the most jaw-dropping insight or motivating statement of intention can fall flat when this element is missing.

Take the intention statement mentioned above: “I intend to double my income while working with joy and ease.” That’s a solid place to start. Now, pave the way for action by packing your intention full of details. Include specific goals such as “I will call fifty new customers this week” and “I will include ten new products in my next catalog.”

Celebrate Growth

Use a journal to make your own growth visible to yourself. Record the results that you experience by using The Success Principles and the Law of Attraction. Whenever a new outcome shows up in your life—whether subtle or significant—capture it in your journal.

Be specific. As your income increases, note dollar amounts. As your network of clients and job contacts grows, include names. As you resolve conflict with key people in your life, describe the words and actions that produced these breakthroughs.

Writing offers a way to lift your eyes above the steady march of daily events. When immersed in the details of work and family responsibilities, you can easily overlook change that is already manifesting in your life. Use a journal to regain perspective and literally rewrite your life.

Seeing the evidence of your personal growth recorded on the page, before your own eyes, can instantly raise your emotional vibration. And that opens a path for the cycle of inspiration, intention, action, and growth to begin all over again.

Your services are not right for everyone – and everyone is not a good client for you.

Remember that sign on some of the rides at Disneyland that said you had to be “this tall to ride” on it. Not only did it make sure that the park didn’t get sued when little kids got hurt (which can be a real buzz kill for your business), but it also made that ride a really hot commodity. Everybody wanted to ride the ride that you had to qualify for.

Your business should be no different.

Granted – you’re probably not going to get into trouble slinging young children from your ride (maybe you will, but that’s your choice), but being a little choosy is good for business. One, because it makes you seem more in demand, and two – clearly defining who you do and do not work with helps you focus your marketing message, your marketing tactics as well as custom tailor your services and packages.

We don’t get a real "high-class" feeling about companies that will do anything for everyone – sounds a little desperate doesn’t? We want to go to the stores that require shirts and shoes, don’t we? (side note: are pants optional at those places?)

There are THREE specific criteria that your niche MUST meet for your income to grow.

It must be lucrative. There are 4categories that people routinely invest in and have proven to weather economic downturns: 1) business and entrepreneurs; 2) marketing and sales; 3) executive and corporate; and 4) health, wellness, and beauty. Do your clients or services fall into one of those categories?

They must know they need help and be willing to invest in it. Let’s face it. There are TONS of people out there that need help but if they don’t know they have a problem, you’re fighting against the current. It’s a double blow if they’re part of a culture that doesn’t invest in services like yours.

It must have growth potential. There needs to be enough people within the group to support a few people who serve them, but there also needs to be growth so that you can grow as well. A good rule-of-thumb is at least 10,000 results when you Google the term of your niche. Lower than that and you run the risk of running dry. (A good targeted mailing list however, can be well under 1,000 and earn six figures! It’s all in the focus and clarity of your criteria)

Give your niche a tune up and see how your business grows.

Author Info: Barbara Saunders is a publication designer and has run a successful solo pro business for more than a decade. She is the Solo Pro Success Coach and the Director of the International Association of Self-Employed Communication Professionals and the Solo Pro Academy. She also hosts the Solo Pro Radio show everyday at 10am Pacific and 1pm Eastern It’s our mission to build community and help creative solo pros build and run successful businesses by providing support, innovation, tools, and strategies. Our goal is to liberate our members from the feast and famine cycle.

Awarded “Best Plus Size Fashion Designer” by Full Figure Fashion Week 2011, “Best Plus Size Clothing Store” by City Search, “Best Store For Plus Size Evening Wear” by Time Out New York and featured in the October issue of Essence Magazine’s “Leaders Of The New School”,Monif C was conceived in 2005 by mother/daughter team Monif and Elaine Clarke to reaffirm every woman’s desire for an inspired life, filled with luxury and unadulterated sexy appeal.

A love of color, prints, and vintage details has been a part of Monif's life from her childhood in Barbados. Today as a plus size woman, Monif understands the need for a new perspective in the plus size market.

As seen on Fox Business America’s Nightly Scoreboard, NBC’s Today Show, ABC News, Barbara Walters’ the View, The Washington Post, Latina, Crain’s New York Business, Essence, Glamour, TLC’s What Not to Wear, Seventeen Magazine, Ebony, Jet and more, The Monif C. collection is quintessentially the wardrobe for the young, contemporary, sexy plus size woman.

by Sydni Craig-Hart
When you think about talking with prospective clients about what you do, you may be tempted to tell them all about how you do what you do. But think about it - is that really what they want to know? Are they really interested in exactly what you do? In most cases, they aren’t.

In reality, they are a lot more interested in what you can do for them rather than how you do it. Your prospects are only concerned about how you can solve their problems in the least amount of time, with the least amount of effort and financial investment. So HOW you address their needs shouldn’t be the focus of your conversations. Instead, you want to make sure that you always stress the results you create. Let them know how working with you can make a difference in their lives. Show genuine personal interest in them and keep the conversation focused on their needs – not you.

Here are a few simple tips to communicate the value of what you offer to prospective clients:

1. What people really want is the transformation they get from working with you.

When a prospect is considering hiring you, there are many factors weighing on their minds. They are thinking about the cost and the time involved, but most of all they are thinking about what outcome they will get from working with you. New clients need to hear about specific examples if they are to trust you. They want to know exactly when you’ve done what you claim you can do. These will involve your work getting fantastic results and solving the problems you described. Think about which stories would be the most appealing for prospects to hear about.

2. Turn these into short compelling messages that highlight who your ideal client is, what problems you solve and the benefits/results clients enjoy when working with you.

Think about the best success stories and the most important problems that you’ve solved. Based on feedback satisfied clients offered during their work with you and the pain points your target market is looking to address, put together a few quick, informative messages that tell people everything they need to know about what you can do for them. These messages should tell prospects specifically about the problems you can solve as well as who might need you to solve them.

3. Use these compelling messages in ALL of your marketing materials.

Now that you know clearly how to convey the value of what you do, be sure to do so at every opportunity. This means when you're networking and speaking. You also want to highlight this in the copy on the back of your business cards and on your social media profiles (and your updates). Include this on your blog and write posts specifically about the problems you solve. Speaking about the transformation you create at every opportunity will highlight that you are focused on giving your clients what they want and what they need. Also, you'll stand out from your colleagues who are focusing their marketing on processes and procedures.

Keep the focus on how you can help your clients transform their lives and you will attract a steady stream of people who are interested in your services. Focus on your methodology and your message may be cloudy. To keep your marketing messages simple and compelling, always stress the results and the transformation.

I'd love to help you fine tune your marketing messaging! Please post your ideas on my blog and we'll talk about how to make your "what I do" statement more compelling.

YOUR ACTION PLAN FOR THIS WEEK:

1. Think about the problems that you solve. Those problem-solving results are what you need to focus on when talking about your business to potential buyers.

2. Review your client success stories and choose the best examples to discuss when talking about your business. If these are references that your listeners can check out for themselves, they will do double duty for you.

3. Keep ALL of your communications focused on the outcome you deliver. Talk about your methods only if you are asked about them. In some cases, they may be of interest to customers.

Sydni Craig-Hart, The Smart Simple Marketing Coach, is founder of SmartSimpleMarketing.com Known for her simple, tech-savvy, integrated approach to marketing, she also has the unique ability to find untapped profit centers in her client’s businesses so they can create money NOW. Visit www.SmartSimpleMarketing.com for your FREE training course, “5 Simple Steps to More Clients, More Visibility and More Freedom” and apply for a FREE "Profit Breakthrough" session with Sydni!

A few weeks ago, a woman named Anna freaked out on my Facebook page that I had referenced a certain well-known person as a brand.

She wrote, “… People are NOT brands, and people are not products… dehumanizing a person to a brand or a product is something that offends me… ”

I nicely pointed out that of course I’m not saying that person is not a human being! I was referring to the business perception and packaging of that person. But it still got Anna’s goat. She would not stop being offended by it. In fact, I bet you she is still steamed up about it. Pretty amazing.

(By the way, when I see someone get so offended or worked up about something like this, I know it’s likely the missing piece to their next level of success. But that’s another article for another day.)

I don’t want to get into a conversation about branding here, but instead look at the bigger picture that is happening for Anna, and many of us who are business owners.

We are taking business way too personally.

It’s not about YOU, it’s about your BUSINESS.

One common mistake I see many women entrepreneurs make, is they seem to forget that their business is a vehicle that allows you to make money, so you can live the life you want, and enjoy the work you do.

It CAN help you be your best you.

But your business is NOT you.

Let me say that again…

Your business is NOT you.

No doubt the gift that women have brought to the world of business has been purpose and meaning. We often start businesses around our personal values, our families, our desired lifestyles, our natural gifts and passions, and causes we are aligned with.

But ironically this gets in our way as well. We suddenly don’t draw a line between who we are and what we do. Between the human and the business you have created.

And that is when we start having huge challenges with:

* seeing our business clearly and objectively in order to make changes and move forward (we operate with blinders on sometimes)
* seeing our self as a brand (which in business it surely is) that has to be nurtured and managed
* pricing our services and products at the right points (this one gets so interconnected with our feelings of self-worth!)
* making bold decisions for our business (we won’t do so if we fear personal failure, judgment, or embarrassment)
* holding on to a business or product we’ve created that just isn’t working (we just won’t let it go because we don’t want to feel like a failure)

Personal Decisions Versus Business Decisions

That last one hit me hard. I remember early in my career, when I was struggling to find what I wanted to do with my life, I was working a fulltime publishing job in Boston and also teaching fitness classes around the city.

Grasping at anything that seemed more fun that what I was doing, I joined a network marketing company I came across that had super nutritional and health products. I dove in head-first, as I was so excited to be around people who seemed to be doing something with their lives. And well, I got in way over my head. I racked up thousands in credit card debt, and in the end, all I ended up with was a closet full of vitamins and water filters! I felt like a HUGE failure.

For YEARS I beat myself up about it. Finally one day I shared my immense guilt with a successful male friend, and he said, “Well Ali, that wasn’t a personal failure. It was simply a poor business decision.”

“Poor business decision…hmmm,” I slowly repeated back to him, hand on my chin, taking in the idea.

And then I began to cry (which guys love, by the way, haven’t you noticed? ;) They always know just what to do), because I felt this huge release and relief.

That was the moment I saw the light, and my business was never the same.

Helen Dao (MHA, Master in Healthcare Administration of New Jersey City University) is the President and CEO of Dao Management Consulting Services, Inc. The company specializes in providing services to local, state, and national organizations in finding and implementing best practices and strategy approaches to address cultural differences and minority’s health disparities. Her expertise and focus is working with the Latino, Asian Chinese, and Caribbean-non-Hispanic communities.

Helen has lead different State and National quality improvement projects such as Project Access which focused on children with special health care needs, New Jersey PBTS Vision Task Force focusing on pre-school awareness and expansion of early screening in underserved communities, and the development and implementation of a national curriculum for care coordinators in Community Health Centers. Helen has been a guest speaker for national organizations such as the National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality (NICHQ), National Association of Public Health Policy, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and the National Epilepsy Foundation America.

She has several published articles on cultural competency and patient-centered medical home model. Helen has conducted several seminars on cultural and linguistic competence at many different organizations such as UMDNJ School of Public Health, New York Institute of Technology Medical School, the Interagency Council of New York, and others.

DAO Management Consulting Services, Inc. is recognized by the National Center for Cultural Competence at George Washington University Center for Child and Human Development, Washington DC, to provide consulting, technical assistance and cultural competency training for organizations. http://www.daoconsultingservices.com

Sue Kasson specializes in helping business owners get more clients by having relaxed, authentic and confident client enrollment conversations.

She is on a mission to help coaches and consultants fill their practices and learn to enjoy getting clients without stress or fear.

Sue has a 20+ year sales and sales management background with several Fortune 500 companies and, in the last 11 years, has trained and coached hundreds of people to help them get more clients and sell more of their products and services. She is also the author of two books.

Sue Kasson: It wasn’t until I started training and coaching on how to sell 11 years ago that I realized all the fear and stress that surrounds sales and marketing.

I would hear:
“Sue, I just don’t know where to start when it comes to online marketing and selling”
“How do I get traffic and sell online”
“Sue, how do I market online without being pushy but still make a great living?”

Out of these questions, my coaching and consulting practice, Zero Stress Selling was born, along with this book.

DB: What is your book about?

SK: It’s about the journey towards having a thriving, full and successful coaching or consulting practice. It is simple yet practical – 5 no-fail strategies to help you achieve your goal of filling your practice with your ideal clients. Small business owners will learn the no-fail strategies of building your list, selling your services, doing profitable teleseminars, creating products, marketing with articles and how to connect with joint venture partners.

DB: Who do you think will benefit from reading your book?

SK: Women entrepreneurs, especially coaches and consultants. I absolutely love helping small business owners find new clients online and then have relaxed and confident client enrollment conversations to build their practices.

DB: What do you feel makes your book different from others in your category?

SK: Let me share a recent review of the book on Amazon.com by Adrian, a small business owner …. “I recently started a home business to supplement the day job and I've really been struggling with how to get and keep new clients. I never thought I had the `marketing' personality type and perhaps that acted as a mental block. This book really helped me understand that anyone can be a great marketer with the right preparation and advice, no matter whether you are introverted or extroverted.

The biggest things I picked up were the importance of creating the right platform and `list'. I had been banging my head on cold calls and this was a real breakthrough. Great book that a newbie like me found invaluable.”

DB: What do you want readers to come away with?

SK: I want women entrepreneurs to know how to market their businesses online. I love the idea that my books can be purchased inexpensively by any coach or consultant that needs help with marketing or with stress and work/life balance. (Sue’s other book is“Zero Stress Selling: 7 No-Fail Strategies to Lose Your Stress Now.”)

DB: What is the key message you want to deliver to women entrepreneurs who read your book?

SK: That you can have your dream and also make money. Previously, I had been in sales for more than 25 years, with the last 10 years as a sales manager for a Fortune 500 company. I was extremely busy with work eating up all my time and draining my energy. Unfortunately, this stress was taking its physical and mental toll.

I knew I had to make a change. I already had one stress-induced disorder, fibromyalgia. So I took some time off from work and made some tough decisions to eliminate everything that stressed me out. It took a while but I finally started to feel better. And eventually, I experienced a feeling of joy that I had not felt in a very long time.Then I was able to start my dream – my own coaching and consulting practice.

DB: What inspires you to do the work you do?

SK: I started my own online business after leaving corporate America and the book was a natural progression of all that I learned making my company, Zero Stress Selling, successful. Now, I’m on a mission to help coaches and consultants fill their practices and to learn to enjoy selling without stress or fear. Part of that mission was to write a book on how to get more clients and fill your practice using online methods of marketing.

DB: Where can people find your book?

SK: There is a website where you can get three bonuses worth $197 when you buy the paperback or Kindle version on Amazon.com. That site is http://www.getmoreclients-fillyourpractice.com. The book is for sale at http://www.amazon.com/author/suekasson.

If you enjoyed these tips about article marketing and would like more practical sales and marketing strategies, visit Zero Stress Selling today. Sue is known for her relaxed and authentic customized client enrollment and sales conversion training.

Has your Solo Pro income been sporadic? Is it not growing as fast as it could? Are you working a lot more hours than you need to for the income you’re was generating?

The choices we make most often determines what we have the most of in our lives. It also explains why so many Solo Pros are struggling to make money in their businesses.

By choosing to place money low on your list of priorities – even though you say you want to make more – you subconsciously keep yourself in the feast or famine cycle.

To make and keep more money, you must make it a priority – every day. That means making better choices.

Try this quick income generating exercise:

Write a list of all the things you do in a day. Estimate how much time each tasks takes. Include personal things like sleep, meal times, chatting with friends, and running errands. Now, estimate how much time you spend on email, social media, and surfing the Internet. Which activities are directly related – or resulting in – income.

Where is most of your time spent? Those are the areas you’re making a priority in your life.

Here’s the point: Where you put your attention is where you’re creating your business and your life.

What would happen if you gave money as much time and energy that you’re giving to the tasks you listed as your current priorities?

Shift Your Mindset to Make Money a Priority in Growing Your Business:

Money Priority Shift #1: DECIDE How Much Money You Want to Make

Don’t just say, “I want more money” or “I want to make six figures this year.” Being specific is essential to creating what you want. Choose an exact amount you want to earn and by when.

Be clear about how much you truly want – not what you think you’re capable of earning. That’s a limiting belief. Beliefs impact choices and can cause you to sabotage yourself. The amount can make you nervous with excitement. That’s OK. It adds energy to the actions you choose.

Money Priority Shift #2: Give Yourself Permission to Be Successful

People have limiting beliefs because they fear success. Without money, you can’t keep help others. Some times we have a fear that if we’re successful, people that are important to us will be threatened or angry. Occasionally, others don’t like it when we change. It’s important to remember that that is their problem and we should not allow it to keep us from the success we deserve.

When you’ve got a clear goal, it’s easier to let go of the false illusions and beliefs – or the limiting influence of others – that may be holding you back. Be open to the possibilities around you and allow yourself to think big.

Money Priority Shift #3: Let Go of PERFECTIONISM

Aim for “completion, not perfection”. Waiting for everything to be perfectly polished before offering them to clients is a choice you’re making to prioritize something other than your income. You need to consciously choose to stop the endless cycle of research and revision that puts you over deadline and under your financial goals.

Putting the Shift into Action

When you don’t know what actions to take daily you can feel like you’re at the mercy of money, with little control or influence over what you make. The major problem every Solo Pros faces is that they’re spending more time worrying about money than they are in taking the right actions to generate more money.

3 Key Everyday Actions to Make Money the Priority

Priority Action #1: Focus FIRST on Income-Generating Activities

We tend to want to organize things. We waste each day by cleaning out the inbox, straightening the desk, and taking care of “quick” tasks. Those activities aren’t going to produce income for you. Try starting each morning by taking action on your income generating activities. By focusing on income generating tasks early in the day, you’ll feel on track, every day.

Priority Action #2: Use Systems to Create Income

It’s important to take risks, try new ideas, and stretch yourself. Don’t do it in a random manner. For example: build your client list strategically. Create and launch your programs and products based on a formula that generates and maximizes sales. Money flows most easily through clear structures and systems. Systems streamline your work so you can spend time serving your clients and creating more income.

Priority Action #3: Abandon the “Dollars for Hours” Routine NOW

Sticking with this model will leave you burned out and unable to earn enough – let alone to break through into new income levels.

It’s essential to learn how to easily and quickly add new income streams to your business by leveraging your time, serving more clients in less time and creating new opportunities.

My business mentor is famous for saying, “It’s Easier To Make More Money Than It Is To Make Less.” By focusing on these 3 actions consistently, you’ll be able to expand your income – and your confidence in your own decision making ability – so you can create the kind of stability and reliable income you’d like.

Author Info: Barbara Saunders is a publication designer and has run a successful solo pro business for more than a decade. She is the Solo Pro Success Coach and the Director of the International Association of Self-Employed Communication Professionals and the Solo Pro Academy. She also hosts the Solo Pro Radio show everyday at 10am Pacific and 1pm Eastern It's our mission to build community and help creative solo pros build and run successful businesses by providing support, innovation, tools, and strategies. Our goal is to liberate our members from the feast and famine cycle.

Barbara Hofmeister is a refugee from Communist Germany and knows first hand what it is like to be living in adverse circumstances. Severely abused and with low self-esteem she set out to live her personal dream travelling the world sharing what she learned from the “University of Hard Knocks” with a wide audience.

Barbara became involved in her own personal development in 1978 when a friend gave her a book by Dr. Wayne Dyer and she has not stopped since to further her knowledge on the topic.

Her never ending enthusiasm and passion for her work shine through every presentation she gives. You will not be able to stay untouched as Barbara has a way reaching deep inside of you so that you can rediscover your hidden dreams and – if you so choose live your life’s true purpose.

Barbara uses a practical step by step approach that allows ANYBODY to move towards their dream life.

“I come from behind the Berlin Wall. Tragically most people build their own Berlin Wall for ‘protection’ but in reality they are imprisoning themselves. I want to change that and make it my first priority to help people tear down that Berlin Wall in order to be able to live their full potential.” www.barbarahofmeister.com

What, exactly, is the Rule of Three? It’s a rule that basically states that more than three “whatever” is confusing and overwhelming – either visually or mentally, or both.

That makes it especially helpful if you’re the kind of entrepreneur who likes to give too much…As in: too many options, too much rambling content, too many bullet points, too much info crammed into a speech, etc.

The Rule of Three is a fascinating thing. Why? Because it seems to apply in so many different situations. And many of these situations are related to effectively marketing a business. So if you’re an entrepreneur, it makes sense to understand how, when and why to apply it.

Oftentimes, the reality is less is more. The Rule of Three can help ensure you aren’t overwhelming your clients and prospects. That translates into more sales.

Below are seven ways you can put the Rule of Three to use in marketing and growing your small business.

1) Follow up. How many times should you follow up with a prospect? A minimum of (you guessed it) three times. More is better! How often do you give up after one or two calls or emails? If you’re not following up AT LEAST three times you’re definitely losing potential clients and projects.

2) Marketing tactics. I recommend my clients never try to implement more than three new marketing tactics at a time. It’s just too much because each one is going to require multiple steps to execute. Plus you need to track response.

While you might eventually have more than three tactics happening simultaneously, if you overload yourself in the beginning you won’t be able to execute any of them well or on a consistent basis—if ever.

3) Business cards. Take a look at a few business cards. Some look professional, clean and easy to understand. Others have way too much stuff crammed into way too small a space.

Chances are the best ones have no more than three blocks of information (whether that’s text or graphics) in the layout. For example, logo in the corner is one, name and title in the middle is another, and contact info at the bottom is a third.

Stick with the Rule of Three here and avoid distracting background images or the urge to squeeze every possible bit of info on one card. You’ll en d up with a better result that makes a more professional first impression.

4) Fonts. Never use more than three fonts on a page – online or in print – (and your logo font does count as one). Having too many fonts looks juvenile and unprofessional. Instead, choose one font for body text and one for headlines or callouts, and leave it at that. You can always use boxes, bolding, underlines, colors and italics for emphasis.

5) Colors. Looking for new colors for your brand? Trying to decide on the colors for your Website? Or that new flier, ad or promotion? Again, the Rule of Three is your friend. Choose one color to be your main color, then one that compliments it, and one to serve as a highlight color.

More than that and your logo, brand and marketing start to look like a car wash poster made by high school students.

6) Speaking points. The human mind can only absorb and remember so much information in one sitting. So when you plan a speech, talk, teleseminar or Webinar, don’t overwhelm listeners with everything you know. Instead choose three points, tips or topics to delve into and save the rest for another time.

Not only do you avoid confusing or overwhelming the audience, but you keep them coming back for more.

7) Bullet points. Not sure when to use bullet points instead of a list in regular paragraph format? Rule of Three to the rescue again…If you’ve got more than three things in your list, it’s time to switch to bullets.

If you’ve got at least three things in your list, bullets are optional but allowed. Less than three and you want to stick with paragraph format.

So next time you’re working on any piece of marketing, branding, copywriting or advertising remember the Rule of Three. You’ll look more professional, be easier to understand, and make a much bigger impact that’s going to grow your business!

Practical Marketing Expert and Business Lifestyle Architect Stacy Karacostas is on a mission to help other savvy entrepreneurs unchain themselves from their business. Discover how to market and grow your business with less effort, help more people, make more money, AND still have a life by grabbing your own copy of her *F*R*E*E* “Success without Shackles Starter Kit” at http://www.theunchainedentrepreneur.com

When we sleep, we give our bodies time to rest, refuel, and re-energize. Unfortunately, we often short change ourselves of needed and deserved sleeping time, thinking that cutting this time short is the only way to accomplish more during the 24 hours that we have to use each day. If we could use sleep to help us save time during the workday, would we then allow ourselves the luxury of getting a full night’s sleep?

Time management expert Kathryn McKinnon has given us the tools to make sleep work for us in business in her best-selling book entitled Triple Your Time Today: 10 Proven Time Management Strategies to Help you Create and Save More Time!This easy-to-read volume is chock-full of wisdom, beginning with Kathryn’s personal story of how she almost lost her life (literally) as a result of her misguided efforts to be productive by modeling the behavior patterns of men.

For me, the most fascinating idea presented in this book is the possibility that we can use the time that we spend sleeping to save time during our working hours. In her book, Kathryn tells us that we average roughly 20,000 thoughts each day and that ~80% of these thoughts are negative. She indicates that it is negative thinking that gets in the way of accomplishing what we want to do because these thoughts create doubt and fear, which then create hesitation and inaction. This means it takes us longer to accomplish our goals–in short, it takes more time.

However, if we learn to let the mind work for us while we sleep, it will find a way to deliver a solution to our problems.

I have already begun utilizing Kathryn’s sleep technique and am getting good results. I recommend her book for this strategy alone!

IMPORTANT NOTE: Kathryn will be my guest on a teleseminar that I am hosting on February 9th to discuss this concept more fully.

To join us for this amazing event, click here and enter your name and e-mail address so that you can receive the call-in details!

A native Houstonian and 19-year resident of Paris, France, I own two small businesses - one as a solopreneur and the other with my husband.

I am a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (B. A., V. M. D.) and The Ohio State University (M.S.), as well as a "Certified Success Coach™" (Prime-Time Business Institute, Inc).

I am a writer and editor in multiple disciplines, and enjoy investigating my topics thoroughly with an eye for the unusual, untold story. I am also passionate about travel and about food and wine. http://gettingoveroverwhelm.com